Restoring Windows 8 to factory state, without deleting sec

Moish

New Member
Messages
6
Hi ya'll.


I have a 3-months old Dell laptop, which I need to do a factory reset for, using the recovery partition.
Since I don't have an external hdd available, in order to backup everything I needed (roughly 95 GB), I shrunk my C drive by 100 gig and created a secondary partition, and just moved my files there.


Now, if I remember correctly, unlike windows disc-installation, it will not let me choose which drive to format and install the new OS on, it'll just delete everything and restore it to the state it was in when I first got it.



Since both drives are on the same HDD, will it actually be deleted? (the secondary drive).
If yes, what can I do to "tell it" not to touch that drive?




System:



  • Inspiron 15 3537
  • I5-4200U
  • 6GB DDR3
  • 1TB 5400RPM
  • AMD RADEON(TM) HD 8670M 2GB DDR3




Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8
From what I understand of the Dell Factory Reset it will erase the entire hard drive to the exact same state as when you got it. Can you not borrow an external hard drive from someone temporarily?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
From what I understand of the Dell Factory Reset it will erase the entire hard drive to the exact same state as when you got it. Can you not borrow an external hard drive from someone temporarily?

No unfortunately I can't, and it's also pretty urgent to me, I kinda wanted to get this done today.
There isn't a way for me to "backup" files on the same HD and still use the Dell recovery partition?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8
Any high capacity flash drives hanging around? The 95 GB you state, is that just your data files?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
See this link for help: link

Note that reset does not remove your personal files, if you move your personal files off the C: partition to another partition. When the "Your PC has more than one drive. Do you want to remove all files from all drives?" screen appears, select the option "Only the drive where Windows is installed" (see screenshots below).








http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2302-reset-windows-8-a.html

9. If prompted, select if you would like to remove all files from all drives or only the Windows 8 drive. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: You will only see this if you have more than one HDD or partition with a drive letter. If you like, click/tap on the Show me the list of drives that will be affected link to see them.

 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
Any high capacity flash drives hanging around? The 95 GB you state, is that just your data files?

No, nothing, and yeah it's just data.

See this link for help: link

Note that reset does not remove your personal files, if you move your personal files off the C: partition to another partition and then if you select: "Your PC has more than one drive" > "Do you want to remove all files from all drives?" > "Only the drive where Windows is installed" (see screenshots below).









That new option they introduced in Win8 (which I didn't hear about till like 2 hours ago :D) is awesome.
I do have a few concerns, however:



  1. Will the Dell recovery partition stay intact?
  2. Will the results be the same as performing a factory reset using Dell recovery partition?
  3. With the Dell recovery partition all apps that came with the laptop (McAfee, Dell apps, drivers) will be installed automatically and I will have the laptop in the same state as I bought it - will the "Reset" option do the same? (hence, is the reset option using the Dell partition or some other image?)
  4. Bottom line - other than my secondary drive staying intact, what's the differences between the Reset option and the Dell recovery partition option?

Thank you so much! :thumb:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2302-reset-windows-8-a.html

This will show you how to use a new feature in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 to reset your PC to completely start over back to default to remove all personal data, apps, and settings from the PC, and reinstall Windows. This is like doing a factory restore/recovery on a purchased computer or clean install, but a little faster.

Which files will be affected?

When you reset your PC, the drive will be completely reset, and all your apps and files will be removed from it. Windows 8 will be reinstalled, and you'll need to change any settings and reinstall any apps that you want to get back after resetting. If you know if any files that you don't want to lose, then you should back those files up before starting the reset.​

What if I have multiple drives?

You can choose whether to reset all hard drives or just the one with Windows 8 installed on it. Any drive that Windows 8 doesn't recognize, such as those with non-Windows operating systems, will not be affected.​
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo G580
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-3230M
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, standard user account
    Other Info
    UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8 product key.
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